Baby boys get boners too

Waking up with a rock-hard flagpole isn’t an unusual occurrence for males after a certain age. Nor are the ‘should I stay in bed until it goes down because we’ve got guests’ or the ‘should I piss now or wait till it goes down’ dilemmas that usually follow.

It’s one of nature’s little ways of checking the equipment’s in order, things are flowing and A-Ok. Or a response to a particularly good dream, but usually the former.

Opening your baby boy’s nappy to find a stiffy staring back at you, however, is one of the stranger surprises first-time parents will experience.

Don’t worry – it’s just biology

Online forums are full of shocked parents asking about baby boy erections.

Is something wrong? Why does this happen?

Some even raise suspicions of sexual abuse being the cause of this ‘arousal’.

As is both of you getting covered in piss as soon as the cold air hits it.

That particular consequence isn’t unrelated, as an erection can be a sign of a full bladder. Expert in all things wee, US urologist Dr Ryan Berglund says it all stems back to the sacral nerves, which control movement in the lower part of the body — including erections.

If you have a full bladder, it can sometimes press against and stimulate those sacral nerves (which can explain the ‘morning glory’). He reckons it can occur at any age — even male fetuses have erections in utero. Jeeze, now that’s just showing off…

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Article by Martin Wanless

Martin Wanless is a 30-something Pom who spends his spare time educating his three year-old-son Ted on all things Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and Sunderland AFC. He is also the proud dad of two cats.

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